Playing with Matches

Really enjoyed this book, makes you think about what is happening in this day and age. Scary that people can be taken in with promises of better time ahead. It shows what can happen when we, as the people, take a stand for our believe, knowing right from wrong.

This was a decent book. it is an account of what German youth might have gone through during WW2. I gave it 3 stars but it is better than that--there is just no 1/2 star rating to add to it. It is an enjoyable read.

This book captured my attention all the way through and presents a believable synopsis of life in Germany during the war. If we don't know history, we are doomed to repeat it. The promises being made by American presidential candidates today sound very similar to those of Hitler--think about it!

You will get a much better understanding of the things were for young people and there was noting the parents could do to keep their children as children. Something we were definitely not even aware of in the US.

I have often wondered how the Germans could go along with Hitler's sick plans about the Jewish people and the infirm folks. Then I began reading books written from the perspectives of the Germans at tthat time in history and discovered the majority of the German population had NO real understanding of what was really going on with their Hitler's demented ideas and actions. Most people were simply aiming for the publicized goals of recovery after WWI. They followed the government like sheep in so many ways. Playing with Matches again documents this way of life and the punishments for questioning authority. This book is well written for the layman to easily understand the brutal aspects of living through Hitler's time in command. I gave four stars because I like to leave room for others to write an even better book on the subject. This book is well worth the read!

I prefer historical biographies but this book uses stories from several people's lives weaved into a new story. It was well done and the author tried to accurately portray life during those difficult years.

You will get a much better understanding of the things were for young people and there was noting the parents could do to keep their children as children. Something we were definitely not even aware of in the US.

I have often wondered how the Germans could go along with Hitler's sick plans about the Jewish people and the infirm folks. Then I began reading books written from the perspectives of the Germans at tthat time in history and discovered the majority of the German population had NO real understanding of what was really going on with their Hitler's demented ideas and actions. Most people were simply aiming for the publicized goals of recovery after WWI. They followed the government like sheep in so many ways. Playing with Matches again documents this way of life and the punishments for questioning authority. This book is well written for the layman to easily understand the brutal aspects of living through Hitler's time in command. I gave four stars because I like to leave room for others to write an even better book on the subject. This book is well worth the read!

I prefer historical biographies but this book uses stories from several people's lives weaved into a new story. It was well done and the author tried to accurately portray life during those difficult years.

Very much enjoyed reading Hitler youth story by author.

Suggest interested readers also rent/buy from amzn the movie "Before the Fall" as an outstanding dramatic portrayal of a good boy choosing whether to commit to the Hitler youth.

This is one of the first books that I've read from this particular point of view. I enjoyed the book and it makes you think about all the Germans who didn't agree with Hitler and risked their lives to fight.

This was an excellent read. I recommend it to anyone who has any interest in WW2 or in stories about relationships. I wasn't too crazy about the way it ended, but war involves a lot of difficult endings.

My Mom was raised in Germany during this time. That is why I bought the book. Lee Strauss did an excellent taking you back in time to understand the history behind this tragic time. Also understanding how hard it was for the Germans to get away from Hitler!

My husband was born in Germany in 1938 and experienced life during and after the war. This was almost hard to read because I have come to understand what his childhood was like and this book really illustrated a young man's difficulty coping with unbelievable tragedy.

My Mom was raised in Germany during this time. That is why I bought the book. Lee Strauss did an excellent taking you back in time to understand the history behind this tragic time. Also understanding how hard it was for the Germans to get away from Hitler!

My husband was born in Germany in 1938 and experienced life during and after the war. This was almost hard to read because I have come to understand what his childhood was like and this book really illustrated a young man's difficulty coping with unbelievable tragedy.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about how World War II affected people living through it.
I have read many books about this time period and found this one to be a very good read. Definitely a different perspective than I had read previously.

I loved this book. It is so realistic that at times I had to remind myself that it is a novel. I am old enough to have lived through WWII, although fortunately in America. The author has done a fantastic job developing the characters and weaving in the real story of Germany in WWII.

It was interesting in learning that the people of Germany. Had their problems were. Like a lot of our people War is horrible for everyone. The world is very scary now and I pray we can straighten. Things peaceably. God help us

I usually do not read WWII novels, I got this one, honestly, because it was free... But after reading it I would have paid for it.. Very interesting, a real page-turner, with a different view and a very different kind of war hero. I highly recommend this book.

I read this book and A Piece of Blue String a book that goes hand in hand with this one in one day. They were great books and I found myself reading them whenever the chance presented itself. I recommend it to anyone an promise you will not be disappointed.

Emil is a boy growing up in Germany during Hitler's reign. He is lucky enough to not be Jewish, but he is a torn child. He loves Germany, but he doesn't agree with Hitler's hate for the Jewish. He has a couple of friends that are completely against Hitler. If it weren't for them, I would think that Emil would have just gone along with everything asked of him, even if he had the nagging feeling that it wasn't right. As the war hits and gets stronger, Emil learns that maybe Germany isn't doing as well as originally thought. The war starts negatively affecting him more so than just rationing. Still, he is a growing teen boy, and the war can't stop that. Between all the horrible events, he finds love. Will the war rip apart his home and family, kill his friends, and end his love? Will Emil even make it?

This book is an extremely heartbreaking and realistic look at World War II from a different perspective, from someone in Hitler's Army that doesn't want to be there. We so often hear about the atrocities that fell on the Jewish, but there isn't as much literature about everyday life for the non-Jewish Germans, especially those that didn't agree with Hitler. Told from the perspective of a child growing into a young adult at the worst time possible, this is a great read for teens as well as adults. It would be a great teaching tool in high schools or colleges, learning perspectives and multiple sides of the World War II story. This one is going to stick with me for a long time.

Free digital copy provided through NetGalley for an honest review

When I started reading this book, I just had to briefly research the Hitler Youth movement to understand something of the power it had in Germany at the time.

By 1934, Hitler Youth was the only legal youth organization in Germany. By 1940 it had 8 million members through apparent social coercion or enforced conscription. Hitler’s war machine gradually turned this organization into an arm of the military, eventually culling millions of the nation’s teens, and young boys into the war effort.

Young Emil, like other German boys, is eager to belong to a group that instills pride in his country and to bring his own contribution. From the very beginning of the book however we see that Emil inwardly questions the actions and teachings of the organization.

I thought it extremely brave, maybe even foolhardy, that Emil and his friends, Moritz, Johann, and then Katharina, spread the word locally secretly spreading pamphlets about how Germans were not being told the whole truth about how the war was progressing when they start to hear the BBC radio broadcasts. Others are being killed for such activities.

As the war continues, it’s heartrending to see the changes brought upon Emil and his family, but I like that the book is written from the point of view of a regular German family. I can’t remember ever reading about how horribly the war affected the lives of the Germans themselves, and yet it seems impossible for them to stop it.

Friendships, families, and lives are torn apart, and living conditions become deplorable as the war takes everything. Young Emil eventually is enlisted into battle, stoically finding ways to keep himself going. It’s terrible that a teenager should have to deal with life and death like this. The author mentions that some of these events are written from true experiences of people who were children during the war, making elements of the story very real.

I was mesmerized with this story and how far down the wrong road man can go. Playing with Matches makes me contemplate the social groups that I’m currently involved in.

I think this book would be a great addition to the high school curriculum as a teaching aid, and is a great read for those interested in the social history of the early 1940s.

I received this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

This was a wonderful and yet terribly sad story about a boy in Germany who desperately wants to love his country and yet, as WWII begins and he sees the atrocities around him, he is forced to decide what is truly, morally right. And yet, even as he and his friends fight for what that believe in, he also learns about the simple struggle to survive. So many stories about WWII talk about the trials of the Allies. This book is about the trials of the Germans. But it is not sympathetic to the Nazis. It is about the people who are simply trying to survive.

The author's note at the end indicates that much of the story is based on interviews with survivors of the war. There is a real sense of being there.

Well worth reading.

Full disclosure: I received this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Playing with Matches is an intriguing tale about a young man in Germany during World War II. Emil is a member of the Hitler Youth and loyal to the Fuehrer above all else. His parents so fear his devotion to Hitler that they must be careful what they say around him yet they be reported to the Gestapo. When Emil and his friends discover a short-wave radio and begin listening to forbidden broadcasts by the BBC, they begin to realize that not all is what it seems.

One of the best YA books I've read in a long time, Playing with Matches grabs you from page one and whisks you back to 1938 Germany. It's rare that I get so engrossed in a story that I feel as if I'm actually there. I have always wondered what it must have been like for those citizens of Germany who knew something wasn't quite right. Using actual real-life stories from those who lived through it, Lee Strauss paints a bleak picture of fear and survival. Her characters seem real and jump right off the page.

The old saying says, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." The rise of the Third Reich is a moment in our history that we must never forget. It shows us how unchecked power and blind allegiance to our leaders can be a very slippery slope. The lessons learned here are just as relevant to us today.

I had this in my library for awhile and came across it when looking for my next book. When I started reading I was doubtful but as I continued I found I couldn't put it down. Lee Strauss knows how to pull the reader into the story. I can't imagine growing up in those times. The three teenagers at first were so excited about belongING to the Hitler Youth group. The parents new better but they had no choice but to let them join. As the story progresses they realize that all is not what it seems and they want to alert people about the way things really are. They were very daring and hid in a barn to write flyers about the truth. They went out in the dark and left the flyers around the town. As the story unfolds the boys grow up and are forced to fight.
This is the best book I have read in a long time and I read most of it in one night. I just couldn't put it down.

Emil is a boy growing up in Germany during Hitler's reign. He is lucky enough to not be Jewish, but he is a torn child. He loves Germany, but he doesn't agree with Hitler's hate for the Jewish. He has a couple of friends that are completely against Hitler. If it weren't for them, I would think that Emil would have just gone along with everything asked of him, even if he had the nagging feeling that it wasn't right. As the war hits and gets stronger, Emil learns that maybe Germany isn't doing as well as originally thought. The war starts negatively affecting him more so than just rationing. Still, he is a growing teen boy, and the war can't stop that. Between all the horrible events, he finds love. Will the war rip apart his home and family, kill his friends, and end his love? Will Emil even make it?

This book is an extremely heartbreaking and realistic look at World War II from a different perspective, from someone in Hitler's Army that doesn't want to be there. We so often hear about the atrocities that fell on the Jewish, but there isn't as much literature about everyday life for the non-Jewish Germans, especially those that didn't agree with Hitler. Told from the perspective of a child growing into a young adult at the worst time possible, this is a great read for teens as well as adults. It would be a great teaching tool in high schools or colleges, learning perspectives and multiple sides of the World War II story. This one is going to stick with me for a long time.

Free digital copy provided through NetGalley for an honest review

When I started reading this book, I just had to briefly research the Hitler Youth movement to understand something of the power it had in Germany at the time.

By 1934, Hitler Youth was the only legal youth organization in Germany. By 1940 it had 8 million members through apparent social coercion or enforced conscription. Hitler’s war machine gradually turned this organization into an arm of the military, eventually culling millions of the nation’s teens, and young boys into the war effort.

Young Emil, like other German boys, is eager to belong to a group that instills pride in his country and to bring his own contribution. From the very beginning of the book however we see that Emil inwardly questions the actions and teachings of the organization.

I thought it extremely brave, maybe even foolhardy, that Emil and his friends, Moritz, Johann, and then Katharina, spread the word locally secretly spreading pamphlets about how Germans were not being told the whole truth about how the war was progressing when they start to hear the BBC radio broadcasts. Others are being killed for such activities.

As the war continues, it’s heartrending to see the changes brought upon Emil and his family, but I like that the book is written from the point of view of a regular German family. I can’t remember ever reading about how horribly the war affected the lives of the Germans themselves, and yet it seems impossible for them to stop it.

Friendships, families, and lives are torn apart, and living conditions become deplorable as the war takes everything. Young Emil eventually is enlisted into battle, stoically finding ways to keep himself going. It’s terrible that a teenager should have to deal with life and death like this. The author mentions that some of these events are written from true experiences of people who were children during the war, making elements of the story very real.

I was mesmerized with this story and how far down the wrong road man can go. Playing with Matches makes me contemplate the social groups that I’m currently involved in.

I think this book would be a great addition to the high school curriculum as a teaching aid, and is a great read for those interested in the social history of the early 1940s.

Full disclosure: I received this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Playing with Matches is an intriguing tale about a young man in Germany during World War II. Emil is a member of the Hitler Youth and loyal to the Fuehrer above all else. His parents so fear his devotion to Hitler that they must be careful what they say around him yet they be reported to the Gestapo. When Emil and his friends discover a short-wave radio and begin listening to forbidden broadcasts by the BBC, they begin to realize that not all is what it seems.

One of the best YA books I've read in a long time, Playing with Matches grabs you from page one and whisks you back to 1938 Germany. It's rare that I get so engrossed in a story that I feel as if I'm actually there. I have always wondered what it must have been like for those citizens of Germany who knew something wasn't quite right. Using actual real-life stories from those who lived through it, Lee Strauss paints a bleak picture of fear and survival. Her characters seem real and jump right off the page.

The old saying says, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." The rise of the Third Reich is a moment in our history that we must never forget. It shows us how unchecked power and blind allegiance to our leaders can be a very slippery slope. The lessons learned here are just as relevant to us today.

I received this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

This was a wonderful and yet terribly sad story about a boy in Germany who desperately wants to love his country and yet, as WWII begins and he sees the atrocities around him, he is forced to decide what is truly, morally right. And yet, even as he and his friends fight for what that believe in, he also learns about the simple struggle to survive. So many stories about WWII talk about the trials of the Allies. This book is about the trials of the Germans. But it is not sympathetic to the Nazis. It is about the people who are simply trying to survive.

The author's note at the end indicates that much of the story is based on interviews with survivors of the war. There is a real sense of being there.

Well worth reading.

I had this in my library for awhile and came across it when looking for my next book. When I started reading I was doubtful but as I continued I found I couldn't put it down. Lee Strauss knows how to pull the reader into the story. I can't imagine growing up in those times. The three teenagers at first were so excited about belongING to the Hitler Youth group. The parents new better but they had no choice but to let them join. As the story progresses they realize that all is not what it seems and they want to alert people about the way things really are. They were very daring and hid in a barn to write flyers about the truth. They went out in the dark and left the flyers around the town. As the story unfolds the boys grow up and are forced to fight.
This is the best book I have read in a long time and I read most of it in one night. I just couldn't put it down.

Preteen Emil is enamored of the Nazi young folk organization. The fuhrer is going to lead Germany to greatness. It’s inevitable.
But the way the Jews are treated leaves him bewildered. His old friend Ann is a nice girl. Her father disappears during Kristallnacht. She and her mother are forced to shovel snow without warm clothing. Then they’re sent away for resettlement in Poland.
A classmate betrays her parents who don’t support Hitler. Emil realizes his parents don’t trust him. His best friends don’t favor the Nazis. What’s a boy to do?
This is an engrossing story of what life must have been like growing up in Nazi Germany. It isn’t pretty.

The youngsters that were in Germany’s youth programs during the persecution of Jews and the military expansionism throughout Europe seemed to fit into three categories: true believers of the German propaganda; loyal, gullible but passive youngsters; and disbelieving but helpless dissidents. As they watched their teenaged Jewish friends and their families rounded up like criminals, they were bombarded with the promise of Aryan dominance as a master race and the ultimate glory of Germany. One young lad becomes of age in the youth movement, then is shipped off to the Eastern front, seeking only to return home to his family. Insightful and poignant.

Originally seen at The Bookish Owl (http://www.thebookishowl.net/?p=4626)

*A free digital copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

One of the reasons why I love World War II historical fiction novels so much is because the characters featured in them personify and embody the entire war. Defeat, confusion, guilt, anger; all of these feelings that are prevalent during wartime are really felt by the protagonists of every WWII-HF and Playing with Matches was no exception.

Playing with Matches revolves around Emile, a young German boy with dreams of being a Luftwaffe pilot. It follows him throughout the war as he steals a BBC radio with his friends and rebels against the German system of propaganda, as he witnesses death in all its cruelty, leaves home to become a soldier for the Fatherland and more.

World War II is famous and its events are well-known by a lot so it was refreshing to see a book that focused more on its characters rather than the setting. This unique approach gave me the opportunity to perceive the war from a the perspective of a well-off German kid. Not only that, this method also makes the reader realize that although fighting at opposite sides, following different leaders and dogmas, war affects people in similar ways. Regardless of how wealthy or poor you are, in the end, the people are the real losers.

Playing with Matches starts off very fast paced and compelling. Emile and his friends get their hands on a BBC radio that broadcasts news very much different from the uplifting propaganda shoved down the throats of the Germans. In a stunning show of bravery and courage even at a tender young age, they take it upon themselves to get the real news out to the townsfolk. Wartime Germany was definitely brought to life with the author’s remarkable word choice and writing style. The scenes are vivid and it was easy to feel the terror, fear and helplessness that Emile and his friends felt. For me, one of the most heartbreaking scenes in this book was when one of Emile’s friends was caught handing out pamphlets with the BBC news written upon it and was shot by the police even though he was only aged 11 or so. The loss of innocence and purity that made Emile shine like a beacon in the midst of a depressing background was indeed very moving.

Lee Strauss introduced a lot of characters and it was great that she managed to illustrate them in a way that exemplified the many characteristics of people during wartime; resilient, brave, and all of them heroes in some way or another. By the time this book ends, Emile isn’t even 18 but the magnitude of the things he had gone through was distressing. The characters in Playing with Matches were all so young and the author did an undeniably great job highlighting how in times of carnage and senseless murder, childhood is stolen away by the adults and children are forced to grow up way too soon – a truth epitomized by none other than the protagonist himself.

The central themes of this book; loss of innocence, staying true to yourself even in the midst of horrifying change and more were brilliantly executed and emphasized. Instead of it being a plot driven story, it focused more on the characters, the effects of the war on them – physically, mentally and psychologically – and their development. I loved how their growth was really emphasized because it made me connect more with them. Each character was distinct with their own identity that it didn’t seem as if they were fictional at all. The character formation was superbly done I really have to commend the author on that.

Playing with Matches was an incredibly moving and touching read. It is a tragic story of a boy forced to grow up before his time, a young kid who saw suffering and hardships that no person should ever witness. It’s vividness and graphic scenes honestly makes it one of the best historical fiction books that I have ever read. I will certainly be looking forward to more books from this author. However, I would recommend that the Kindle format be fixed as there were spaces between letters and whatnot.

In my opinion, Playing With Matches is a story that has been waiting to be told. Books about the Jewish experience of World War Two, whether fiction or non-fiction, are well-known and I am sure that the majority of people reading this review have come across The Diary of Anne Frank or Schindler’s Ark. I think because of this there is an assumption that the lives of ordinary German people were full of unicorns and rainbows – until this book.
Lee Strauss writes Playing With Matches with so much realism that we can believe that the Radles, Schwarzes and Ackermanns actually existed. We are constantly reminded that Passau is only a small community, set apart from Berlin and Munich, yet the town is still progressively torn apart by Hitler and his Lebensraum objective.
The novel is initially an uncomfortable read. The story’s main character, Emil, is a member of Deutsches Jungvolk; unknowing pawns in Hitler’s plan to spread his hatred for anyone outside his ideal human model,

“all important accomplishments in art, science and technology have been made by the Nordic or Aryan race. Therefore, this is clearly the only race of culture founders.”

Though I think we want to despise Emil and his reproduced chants, there are moments at which he redeems himself, particularly when he goes against everything he has been told and helps his friends Anne. Emil’s character develops greatly over the course of the story and he shows us that duty is different than acceptance.
Lee Strauss helps us to understand how Germany’s citizens were controlled by the propaganda fed to them by Joseph Goebbels. It is not until Emil and his friends, Moritz and Johann hear an illegal BBC broadcast that they realise the damage the war is causing to their country.
Playing With Matches is a sometimes difficult journey in which Lee Strauss effectively reveals the horrors of the Second World War. Although it is told in third-person narrative, concentrating on Emil and those close to him, the author does not ignore the appalling treatment of the Jews and non-Aryans. Playing With Matches often led me speechless and sobbing, but I think this is a very important text which can teach readers, no matter their age, about hatred, prejudice, corruption of power and suffering.
I received this as a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Emil is growing up in Passau, Germany under Hitler’s rule. He attends his Deutsches Jungvolk meetings with fervor and wants to be a pilot. Emil begins to see the faults in Hitler’s plans as tensions arise and the hatred of the Jewish people grows. Emil’s friends Moritz and Johann discover the truth behind the German propaganda with the BBC news broadcast over a shortwave radio, not everything is going so well for the German’s during the war and fatalities are much worse than reported. The three friends decide to distribute the news with the help of Johann’s sister, Katharina. As the years pass, the boys grow older and are eventually trained to fight and sent to the front for a war they no longer want to fight; even Katharina finds herself in training as the German losses mount.
Playing With Matches proved to be a moving coming of age story told from the point of view of a German teen. The history in the story really grabbed me and I learned about the German Youth meeting, the effects of World War II on the average German Home and the efforts of The White Rose resistance. It was interesting to watch Emil’s character grow as he began to emulate his Deutshes Jungvolk leader and argue with his parents as a youth, to seeing his Jewish friends business destroyed, to taking huge risks by distributing treasonous pamphlet and eventually fighting. Emil’s character struggles through many emotions: fear, hope, survival and love to create a realistic story of a German youth growing up during World War II.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

I have chosen a medium rating. Leaning to a higher rating is the quality of the story told and the emotions it brought in me. Trending to a lower rating is the enormity of typographical and grammatical errors. For a few hundred dollars a good line editor could clean this up. It is very annoying to have to ignore or mentally correct textual errors.
Further, the author should not speak of weapons without knowledge. To suggest that high tech Germany in the 1940's would rely on weapons for shooting down aircraft that went out with the Napoleonic Wars is ludicrous. "Dropped a cannon ball in the barrel and lit the fuse." Those allied flight crews would be back in England tipping their first pint and laughing at the futility of the German defense.

Imagine being taught that a certain class of people are evil and a threat to your very way of life. Imagine growing up idolizing the people who helped eradicate that threat from your country. Now imagine learning that everything you thought was true, was good, was actually a lie

Playing With Matches does something I haven't seen before. It tells the story of the Holocaust from the point of view of German boys growing up wanting to join the Nazi army. They are part of the Hitler Youth and believe in everything the Fuehrr says......until they find a shortwave radio and hear BBC broadcasts telling the story from both side of the war.

This is a very emotional story that gives you a glimpse of what it was like growing up as a German child during the time of the Holocaust. When you think about the Holocaust it is very easy to forget that many Germans in Germany at the time of Holocaust were just normal people who trusted in
their leader to guide them. They weren't hateful people who were just set on destroying the Jews. They truly believed in what he said, especially the younger generation.

Reading this book really made you think about what it must have been like to have believed in a cause so strongly and admire someone so much only to find out that they were lying and things weren't as they seemed. That can be a very devastating thing for anyone. I really enjoyed this book for many reasons but one of the biggest reasons is because even though this book is set during the Holocaust, the emotions of the characters are still relevant today.

These characters could have lost their lives after they decided to covertly spread the word to their community that Hitler was a liar and that things were not as they seemed. Their bravery is very admirable and inspiring. These young people risked everything to help other disillusioned Germans learn the truth. The writing in this book is phenomenal and I cannot wait to read the sequel!

I suspect I'm one of the few writing a somewhat negative review, judging by the majority of other reviews posted here.

Couldn't wait to read it.....it's made clear that the foundations of the book are based on real-life accounts. The tragedy of lost youth and a generation that was brainwashed my the Nazi machinery needs to be told. However, I felt that there wasn't a great deal of fresh insight into this material. And to take valuable research like this, and then turn it into a very lightweight style of story telling really doesn't do the research justice.

I guess I have been researching and reading/watching books/documentaries about this subject for a long time. The atmosphere and historical aspects of the book are fine, but I just wish the author had found a more realistic way of presenting it, rather than the tame fictional story that for me was rather too predictable.

A good read for anyone not in the know about this subject. A good read for anyone starting to explore a different angle of history. But I cannot help but feel that it could have been more powerful if the researched material had not been watered down in the way it has been.

I could not put this book down! This story of one child life during the war with Germany catches the perspective of the German citizens during this war very well. From being a child who overheats adult opinions and intercepts papers with other opinions and also learns the propaganda to a soldier fighting in the war at a very young age the emotions of this child and those around him will freeze your blood. It catches and humanized the very real fear they had of all sides around them. There was truly nobody who could be trusted! I am putting this novel in my library of favorites. I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion and I honestly loved it and found it to be very educational as well as a good novel to read.

As a Jew, I have always wondered what it was like for a child brought up during the era of Hitler. This book shows how a child, a member of Hitler's Youth group, slowly realizes that it is all wrong, but has to pretend he still believes even to his parents who he knows do not agree with Hitler. We follow this child from 11 yrs old through Crystal Nacht to fire bombings and being sent to the front, watching his best friends die and lose limbs. And I wonder, what would I have done, had I been in his place?

My grandson read this book in the eighth grade and passed it to me. It was intriguing and appalling in its honesty about Hitler and Nazism. I did not read the book on line so a lot of the problems experienced by Kindle readers were not encountered by me. I would suggest reading the hard copy. Such a touching novel.

Often in our modern age we rage against war; yet, fail to contemplate the victims that exist within the faction of the aggressors themselves. Ms. Strauss gives a mind, heart and soul to those who fought, sometimes silently, within themselves and to the capacity they could, for what was right. Much applause for giving us Emil, Johann, Katharina and dear Moritz.

When the book downloaded, it cut off the side of the pages, so I could not see the end of the sentences. It was too aggravating to try to guess what some of the words were that connected to the next word on the sentence below.

I wasn't expecting to be drawn into this story as much as I was. Emil's evolution from true believer to skeptic as he pursues his dream of flight is fascinating to read, and Strauss is truly a master of writing realistic scenes of military life.

The authenticity of this book is what sells it. And I think there's a real-life connection to some of the events that occur.

Playing With Matches is a moving, breathtaking, edge-of-your seat story.

Highly recommend!

I have tried to read this, but the formatting is all wrong. No matter how I change the font, size, or margins the words on the right side of the screen are cut off. I have checked for updates hoping this had been fixed, with no success.
Upon reading the reviews it seems like I might be the only one experiencing this and I don't know where I need to go to contact the store about this. Or perhaps I need to contact the publisher?
I am eager to read this book, but this issue keeps me from being able to do so and I've not had this issue with any other ebook.

I finished reading Playing with Matches and was intrigued. I loved how Lee Strauss described the change in Emil's thinking and what life during war might have been. I ask myself how I would have acted if I had lived during these times. The book also motivated me again to be content in every situation. There are lots of (German) books about young people and resistance/endurance during the second world war, but I think this one is very much worth reading!

Okay, this book had me in tears more than once, but what holocaust-era story doesn't make you cry? It was a really good story despite, or perhaps because of, the heart-breaking elements. I would recommend it to anyone who likes realistic, well-written stories that take place in this time period.

I loved this book. I read it in 2 days as I couldn't put it down. I was drawn in from the first scene. I appreciated the history and story line of the young Emil. It helped me understand the mental persuasian Hitler had on the country through the eyes of Emil. I have recommended this book to many people, thank you Lee Strauss!

This story is a page turner from the first page. I passed the book on to my young adult son who then passed it on to his friends and even my book club members loved it. Great writing, compelling story line full of emotion and history.